Sunday Brunch With The Neighbors – Chorizo, Egg And Toast Cups

This weekend my neighbors are coming over for brunch. Whilst eggs are quick and not unreasonably demanding, they require a lot of live action cooking – as in right there and then. Not the kind of performance I am down with on a Sunday morning. Also, people get fussy with eggs – egg whites only, sunny-side up, no color, yes color, the demands just keep coming. This weekend, I am taking these choices off the table. The eggs will be cooking in the oven as they walk in, leaving me time to catch-up with them over a lazy Sunday morning playlist and clicking some random shots of us when we aren’t on our way out of the door chasing routine.

Felipe Neves

I decided to make eggs on toast in baked chorizo cups – a twist on the classic bacon and eggs. Ofcourse, I had to put it to the test first. I lined a cupcake tin with pre-sliced thins of chorizo inserted with toast rounds and cracked egg. All it now needed to do was bake as I put on the coffee.

In 20 minutes my eggs, coddled in the crisp organza-like chorizo, were ready. They looked so cozy, as if they were still in bed (probably a reflection of where I thought I should be). The salty and smoky presence of the chorizo was perfect with the lightly set eggs and hidden toast. Of course, I made a few more toast rounds to lap up the loppy goodness. If you can’t find pre-sliced chorizo (because it should be wafer thin), you can always switch with prosciutto or bacon – they are similar in texture and add that salty kick.

Ingredients

Cupcake pan

Cooking spray

8 slices of chorizo (to cover the bottom and sides of pan – if they are small disks, you will need more)

4 eggs

4 slices of bread

Butter

Freshly ground pepper

MethodSet the oven to 400 degrees

1) Cut circles that will fit in to the cupcake pan using cookie cutter or the rim of a glass

2) Spread butter on both sides of the bread and toast on a frying pan until golden on each side

3) Spray each mold with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides of the pan with chorizo slices. Press down the toast in to the cup and crack an egg in to each cup

4) Bake at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until the whites are set

5) Carefully slide cups out of the mold and serve with toast rounds

Saira Malhotra, is of British–Indian descent and is a chef, food writer and cooking instructor based in New York City. Raised in Hounslow, U.K, or rather ‘Little India’, where the air is aromatic with roasted spices, little did Saira know these moments would follow her from being a student in France and Italy to residing in NYC with her husband and kids and parlay themselves unexpectedly in to a culinary career. She is a graduate of the International Culinary Center in New York City. Come visit her at her food blog: www.passportpantry.com where she shares approachable and international recipes